Pain Management

Here at Freeport Veterinary Medical Center, we are dedicated to the comfort of your pets.

Some people don’t believe that pain is real in pets, but we disagree. We are determined to keep your pets as comfortable as possible throughout their entire lives. We will be here for your pets dealing with pain post surgery, after injuries, and especially from arthritis as your pets age.

Here at Freeport Veterinary Medical Center, we offer many different choices when it comes to managing your pets’ pain levels. We usually start with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to help. They are usually pretty effective, though sometimes they have side effects. We give steroids when pets are having back pain. Steroids usually offer a lot of relief due to its anti-inflammatory effects. We don’t like to keep pets on steroids long-term if possible.

If none of these options is effective, there are stronger medications. Some of these are controlled substances, so we have to be careful when prescribing them. Some pets need a combination of several medications to keep their pain under control.

Arthritis pain can be complex. We usually start with glucosamine tablets. There are also some foods on the market which have a large amount of glucosamine in them. Many owners note a big improvement after putting their pets on the food. There is also injectable glucosamine which works really well, though it can be quite costly to start.

It is important to get blood work before starting any medications. If your pets’ kidneys or liver is not working as well as it should be, they will have trouble on the medications. Once on the medications, routine blood work will allow us to make sure that your pets are not having any adverse effects from them.

We are determined to keep your pets as comfortable as possible. We also want to minimize the amount of medication you have to give and thereby cut back on any potential side effects.

Please contact us at (979) 233-3290 if you would like to set up an appointment to discuss your pets’ pain with one of our veterinarians.